Thursday, February 11, 2010

So a friend pointed out that this bit in a prior post, felt a bit like light sandpapering.

NB: No, WS, racism won't disappear if classism disappears. Racism took on a life of its own beyond being a new form of classism, more than 500 years ago. It's not going back in the box.

And in discussing it with them, I realized that while I remain extremely aware of how whiteness was cultivated as a higher status, a new and privileged class in opposition to dark skinned indentured servants and slaves - which has grown, festered and fermented into the racism of today; slavery & colorism, colonialism & imperialism, genocide & deforestation, appropriation, co-option & exploitation....; I didn't think anyone would ever think/say getting rid of classism would get rid of sexism, heteroism, cisism or ablism.

But as I thought about it, I realized some ignorant could. After all, once upon a time women (and children) were considered property. From that stand point women were a sub-class. And seeing them as a sub-class, having that as subtext in the formation and evolution of society could be seen as birthing sexism, obviously, but also heteroism, cicism and ablism.

In fact, the sub-class of being female can be seen as birthing all of them; Misogyny as an earlier branch off classism that went on to bear it's own fruit.

1. To be a woman is to be sub-class

2. To reject joining one self to a man for increased status and power is to be defective & sub-class [lesbians]

3. To be entered or penetrated or ever on one's knees before another male, is to be like a woman -> is to be defective & sub-class [gay men]

4. To be less than physically and mentally whole (according to society's dictates) is to be in need of Mothering (care/nurture/concern/ assistance); therefore to need Mothering as an adult is to be defective & sub-class; possibly twice over for need and for being like a woman (weak, in need of concern & forethought, etc). [pwd]

5. To want to be a woman, when one is currently seen as having the status & power of being male, is to be defective & sub-class. To do things to accomplish that goal is to accept the sub-class status. To want to be a man when one is currently seen as a woman, is to reach beyond station into delusion , thus defective & sub-class. To insist, act, believe that the sub-class status does not exist; that women and men are equal class, is to be defective & subclass. [trans individuals]

Class transgression; the insistence that that original sub-class is not immortal truth, does not need to exist, and in fact held fallacies. Action just by existing and holding on to even the smallest of triumphs; transgression via breath.

And yet somehow I doubt if sexism were annihilated or conquered tomorrow and misogyny was no more, homophobia, transphobia and ablism would just disappear with it; and it's not just because they've taken on lives of their own. It's because they've become so divorced from misogyny; and the movement to end misogyny does not hold to intersectionality, doesn't see the fruit from the branch.

Class is not a disease, far less one disease with many varied symptoms. There is no magic pill; movement, philosophy; that will suddenly have all human beings looking upon one another, each and everyone as complete and total equals, different but no more special for their uniqueness. Intelligence, beauty, athletic ability, fertility, artistic ability, green thumb, beliefs, spirituality - were the Crusades not a struggle of status?

Class isn't even one strain of dis-ease that split and mutated into different types.

Fear of lack due perceived finite resources - if someone has then someone else has not. If someone else has not then someone has more. If someone has more, then someone else will want it.

I think I need to study Marx at this point. The thought's just dangling there, but I can't quite weave it. Still, I think I can say while class may be a root/seed/spore, this is one heck of a big, multi-limbed, epoch/epic spanning...thing.